SMS - Social Media Studies

Social Media Studies (SMS) is a multidisciplinary university-wide Research Programme at the University of Borås. Issues of interest include how users through interaction with social media transform production, consumption, seeking, sharing and use of information. The emerging information practices translate into changing social norms in relation to, for instance, politics, democracy, activism, relationships, markets, trade and cultural creation/consumption.

While related to social media, the studies conducted within the SMS programme fall under different overarching themes including:

Meta perspectives on social media research

Academic and public libraries

Information seeking and identity

Implementation and use within organizations

Politics, democracy, society

Visualization, networking, and webometrics

Research at SMS builds on empirical investigations and is often performed in interaction with the business community, civil society and government authorities. Results are presented in established research journals, conferences and in workshops, nationally and internationally.